I Became a Demon Who Can Never Be Headpatted in the Academy?! – Chapter 46

The Moonlight Choir Festival is an event where players who quickly resolved “Lady Jepar’s Scheme” can leisurely enjoy the aftermath of the incident.

On the other hand, if you fail to discover or stop the scheme itself, the exciting and joyful choir festival suddenly turns into a time-attack event filled with screams.

However, unless you completely abandon all sub-quests or play with some strange concept, there’s no way you wouldn’t discover Lady Jepar’s scheme.

After all, unless you’re on the Demon King route, stacking kill counts, or obsessed with experience points, most players can leisurely enjoy the Moonlight Choir Festival, given that it’s an elementary section event…

《La■y Je■ar’s Sch■me》

《Rem■ning Ti■e: 46 minutes》

“Ugh…”

Unlike the brightly chatting children, I, caught in a微妙ly tangled situation, can’t enjoy the Moonlight Choir Festival.

Nicasia and Citrine sent people to the eight locations where the magic circles were supposed to be installed, as I requested, but the anxiety didn’t seem to disappear.

“Murmur? Are you okay?”

Patting my back, Esme handed me a cup of apple juice.

“Don’t worry too much. Princess Nicasia and Citrine sent a lot of people, right?”

“Thanks, Esme.”

The apple juice Esme handed me was sweet. I must have been really thirsty. Before I knew it, I had emptied the cup in an instant.

“Phew…”

“Hey, Murmur.”

Esme grabbed my waist and hugged me like a teddy bear.

“I may not be as good at magic as you, but I can tell you this one thing.”

The hand patting my back was awkward, but it was filled with concern for me.

“Don’t worry too much. As long as you’ve worked hard, nothing will happen today. Instead, you should be thinking about what song to sing with Nicasia.”

“…Huh? Singing with Murmur and Nicasia?”

“Hehehe! Of course! It’s only natural that there would be a solo stage for Princess Nicasia, right?”

“But if it’s a solo, why would Murmur go up…?”

Esme burst into a cute laugh. Seeing her pure face and expression, my tense heart softened to the point where I felt like going to the bathroom.

“Here you are! Murmur!”

“We’re back! Lady Murmur!”

Nicasia and Citrine appeared simultaneously, their expressions quite bright.

“It was just as Lady Murmur predicted!”

“Riola and Maris found the magic circles right away and cleaned them up.”

“Our guild also quickly found the magic circles. We didn’t find any suspicious people, but it was nice timing!”

“Even after removing the magic circles, we’ve stationed people there, so no new magic circles will be carved.”

As soon as their story ended, Esme grabbed my hands and shook them up and down.

“See~! Murmur! We brilliantly stopped Lady Jepar’s scheme as planned!”

“Ugh, ugh?! Esme! Why are you monopolizing the best part?!”

Citrine clung to me urgently.

“Lady Murmur! Since we’ve stopped Lady Jepar’s scheme, how about enjoying the choir festival together today?”

Did we really stop Lady Jepar’s scheme?

I don’t want to relax until the status window confirms the exact result, but my plan was a complete success, right?

“Yeah, Murmur wants to enjoy the choir festival with friends today.”

“Oh~hohoho! That’s good. Then how about coming with me to the best spot to enjoy the full moon?”

“Hmm, I think that might be difficult, Citrine. Today, Murmur has to sing with Princess Nicasia.”

Citrine, who had been smiling brightly, quickly turned her head to look at Nicasia.

“Ahem…! It’s not like I planned it that way.”

“Nicasia!!!”

“I, I swear! I was just asking for cooperation from other professors and ran into Professor Aphrodite… the conversation just naturally…”

“Why are you going up with Lady Murmur?!”

With an incredulous expression, Citrine pulled me.

“Murmur thinks… Murmur doesn’t need to go up.”

“No, no! Everyone at the Academy needs to know how cute Murmur is!”

That’s not going to happen.

Is this some new form of bullying? If a demon, who gets pointed at just for passing by, sings with the princess, it’s too obvious what people will say.

“Mu, Murmur doesn’t want to.”

“See! Lady Murmur said she doesn’t want to!”

“No, no! Murmur! Please sing with me just once!”

Nicasia approached, and I quickly hid behind Citrine’s back.

Phew! Being small is a blessing this time.

“Princess Nicasia… Are you embarrassed about the solo stage?”

Nicasia’s face turned red as she shook her head.

“Pfft… Nicasia’s face is red.”

“Do, don’t tease me! Murmur!”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

Yeah, today is the fun Moonlight Choir Festival.

It’s the day to enjoy the aftermath of stopping Lady Jepar’s scheme.

“Lachesis and Monica should be here too…”

I looked up at the beautiful moon.

《La■y Je■ar’s Sch■me》

《Rem■ning Ti■e: 10 minutes》

Lady Jepar’s scheme has been thwarted.

Instead of fidgeting with worry, let’s think about how to enjoy the choir festival today.

“First, come this way, Lady Murmur.”

“Can we come too, Citrine?”

“Of course~”

Following Citrine, who tightly held my hand, we passed through a crowded path and headed to a corner of the playground.

There, we saw Balkan, Citrine’s butler, who had already secured a spot.

“Good work, miss.”

“Good work, Balkan. Now, Lady Murmur, please sit here in the best spot.”

Citrine made me sit in the innermost seat and then sat to my left.

Nicasia, seeing this, tried to say something but closed her mouth prettily.

─ Ziiing!

“Ladies and gentlemen of the dignified Cosmos Academy, as the moonlight seeps in! The curtain is about to rise on the elegant ‘Moonlight Choir Festival,’ so please grace us with your presence!”

Professor Aphrodite’s excited voice echoed loudly throughout the academy.

The preparations for the choir festival seem to be in order. Students carrying various instruments were seen climbing onto the stage. There are a lot of them, from elementary to high school sections.

“In this noble time, may your youth shine more beautifully than ever, and for our precious performers who have prepared with all their hearts, please give them a graceful round of applause!”

─ Clap clap clap clap!

“Wow…!!!”

“Saintess Monica! You’re truly beautiful!”

“Look! Look over there!!! It’s a huge trumpet!”

“I heard they’ve been preparing for a month, it’s going to be amazing!”

Listening to the voices filled with anticipation along with the applause, I couldn’t help but smile.

《La■y Je■ar’s Sch■me》

《Rem■ning Ti■e: 1 minute》

Let’s enjoy the happy aftermath of stopping Lady Jepar’s scheme.

Citrine, Nicasia, and Esme seem to have prepared something too.

『A new event has been confirmed!』

《Stop the Summoning of Gatekeeper Demon Gabriel》

“…Huh?”

─ Thump, thump thump!

“Ah… Ugh, what’s…?”

“Dizzy… Ugh…”

As if mocking my small happiness, the status window appeared, and students began to collapse one by one.

Even the children preparing to perform on stage dropped their instruments and fell to the ground.

『Stress has increased by 11!』

“Kya, kyaaaah…!”

“Wh, what’s this! What’s going on! Why is everyone suddenly collapsing… Ugh.”

The Moonlight Choir Festival, which should have been filled with joyful and lively singing, quickly descended into chaos.

“Ugh…! Mu, Murmur! Something’s wrong!”

Esme covered her mouth with both hands, looking distressed.

“Mana… Ugh, ugh! The leyline is acting up! It’s so unstable that even I can feel it!”

“The mana in the air has become heavy too. This is definitely not normal!”

Citrine stood up and looked at Balkan.

“Balkan!! Are the people from our guild okay?!”

“… … Confirmed. Everyone is unharmed.”

“Riola’s side hasn’t been attacked, and there are no hidden magic circles in secluded areas.”

『Stress has increased by 12!』

“Ugh, ugh…”

This wasn’t the worst-case scenario I had in mind.

I thought the changelings might attack to reclaim the eight locations, but what on earth is happening?

“Se… Saintess! Princess Nicasia! Watch your feet!”

Nicasia quickly stepped back. The ground where her feet had been was bubbling up with a strange sensation.

“Wh, what’s going on?”

“The…! The leyline is boiling!”

“…Huh?”

『Stress has increased by 13!』

“Murmur told you! Remember? The eight locations we were guarding today were places that could efficiently interfere with the academy’s leyline!”

“Yes, so if we guard these eight locations, Lady Jepar’s scheme would be impossible, right?”

“No. That’s not it!”

Esme shook her head vigorously.

“They’re the most efficient locations, but not impossible!”

“Th, that can’t be… No way.”

“Murmur, you know this too, right? What you can do with 4 magic circles, you can do with 10 or 20, just less efficiently, but it’s not impossible!”

“No, no… The chance of failure is too high. The Cosmos Academy’s leyline is delicate, so doing something so brute-forced…”

─ Bubble bubble

“Su, surely. They’re doing this brute-force method regardless of success or failure?!”

“No need to speculate! Citrine! Look at the leyline! It’s going berserk! The mana gushing out is seeping into the air, making it hard to breathe!”

Citrine realized what I had realized.

I see.

So, the changeling transformed into Fenex doesn’t care how bad the situation gets.

They just need to summon Gatekeeper Demon Gabriel.

“Ugh, ugh…”

『Stress has increased by 14!』

“Nicasia! We need to call the teachers!”

“Except for Professor Aiaie or Professor Aphrodite, it’s impossible.”

“Are they really arguing at the New-Hellheim Clubhouse?”

“Yes. Vice Principal Remiris of the middle school section said today was the day to settle things…”

“Th, that’s really far! Even if we run non-stop, it’ll take two hours?!”

『Stress has increased by 15!』

“Fi, first! Let’s call our guild members… Ah, ah… What should we do?!”

“I don’t know! I don’t know! What should we do?! The leyline is boiling! We’ve never learned how to handle this!”

“I’ll try to think of something… I’ll try to figure something out!”

…

I failed.

“Haah, haah…”

I failed to stop Lady Jepar’s scheme.

And now, Gatekeeper Demon Gabriel could be summoned at any moment, and it wouldn’t be surprising.

『Stress has increased by 16!』

“…Murmur was… stupid.”

“Mu, Murmur?! What are you saying all of a sudden!”

“How is this Murmur’s fault!”

“Don’t say that!”

Everyone shouted, but no.

It’s Murmur’s fault.

And honestly, I don’t know anymore.

『Stress has increased by 17!』

Where is Lady Jepar summoning Gatekeeper Demon Gabriel?

I don’t know. It’s different from the main story.

What should I, Murmur, do now?

I don’t know. This isn’t a story I know.

How do I erase these 10, 20, or more magic circles that have appeared?

I don’t know. I’ve never seen this information before.

“Ugh, ugh…”

『Stress has increased by 18!』

Everyone is in danger, and I don’t know how to solve this situation.

『Murmur』

【HP87 MP55 Hunger87 Stress112】

“Haah, haah…”

“Murmur! Are you okay? Murmur?! Your body is burning hot like a fireball!”

Nicasia came over and hugged me tightly.

Citrine also hugged me, not knowing what to do.

Esme stroked my horn with her cold hand.

『Stress has exceeded the limit.』

Why did I choose such a difficult path?

There must have been an easier way.

“Ha, ah… Ah, haah…”

You know, Murmur.

You could have just killed Lady Jepar.

Was it necessary to suffer like this?

“Haah… Haah─”

No matter how hard a demon tries to live kindly, they are hated.

Your efforts were meaningless.

A demon can’t become a hero, right?

『Murmur’s heart… … has crumbled!!』

“Murmur… won’t… give up…”

I clenched my fist with all my might.

I desperately clung to my fading consciousness.

This scheme has been off the main story from the start.

I was just deluding myself, thinking like a frog in a well!

“Ni, Nicasia… answer me…”

“Mu, Murmur? Are you okay?”

“Where… is Lady Jepar… now?”

“Sh, she’s still imprisoned in Piglet House!”

The sudden appearance of multiple magic circles.

The boiling leyline.

The summoning of Gatekeeper Demon Gabriel has begun.

Lady Jepar is still imprisoned in Piglet House.

…

My efforts weren’t meaningless.

I was just about to give up like a fool!

If you hold a puzzle in your hand and don’t try to solve it, what’s the point!

“Murmur… has a plan!”

『… … … …』

『… … But Murmur held on!!』

『Stress has decreased by 112!』

“Nicasia, Citrine! And Esme! Can you lend Murmur your strength one more time?”

I reached out with all my might.

“How could we refuse a request from our best friend!”

“We can’t just keep thinking about solutions forever. Tell us, Murmur!”

“Anything you ask, Lady Murmur!”

The three of them grabbed my hand tightly.

Who says a demon can’t be a hero?

I, Murmur, already have this many good friends around me.

“Murmur is going to talk to Professor Aiaie now.”

And if the opponent doesn’t act according to the main story, I’ll use underhanded tactics too.

Just wait, I’m going to do what I’ve only imagined until now!

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